Uttar Pradesh reports 129 deaths as Covid-19 cases rise by 30,566

As many as 129 people died from Covid 19 in different parts of Uttar Pradesh in the past 24-hours as the number of positive cases surged to over 30,000 in the same period.

According to the health officials the total number of active cases in the state has now reached 1.91 lakh.

The officials said that reports of shortage of oxygen at Covid hospitals had been received from many places in the state and the government had directed to augment production of the life saving gas to meet the soaring demand.

Ten new Oxygen plants were being set up in the state to increase its supply.

The state government has also directed the Covid hospitals to have Oxygen back up for at least 36 hours, sources said.

Also read: India's Covid-19 positivity rate doubles to 16.69% in 12 days, says Government

The officials said that the government would slap the National Security Act (NSA) against those found to be hoarding Remdesivir, a drug used to treat seriously infected patients, or selling it in the black market.

Complaints of non-availability of beds at the hospitals and refusal to admit serious patients were however reported from many places in the state, sources said.

The state government declared a complete lockdown on Sunday and has also cancelled the forthcoming Ramnavami fair at Ayodhya in view of the pandemic. Millions of devotees were expected to congregate in Ayodhya on the occasion.

A tweet by Union minister V.K.Singh requesting the district magistrate of Ghaziabad to arrange a bed for his Covid 19 positive 'brother' triggered a controversy with the netizens saying that the tweet had exposed the ground reality about the state of affairs in the state.

Singh, however, later clarified that he had sought help for a person out of humanitarian considerations and that the person was not related to him.